Apparatus for burning soft or bituminous



' (No Model.)

O. G. HARE. Apparatus for Burning Soft or Bituminous Goal. No.242,126.

Patented May 31, I881.

liar/2222' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTOPHER O. HARE, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

APPARATUS FOR BURNING SOFT OR BITUMINOUS COW SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,126, dated May 31, 1881. Application filed April 11, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER O. HARE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented Improvements in Apparatus for Burning Soft or Bituminous Goal, of which the following is a specification.

A difficulty in all base-burning apparatus for bituminous coal (so far as known to me) is that the coal cakes over at the bottom of the magazine, forming a hard crust, which prevents the coal from falling down into the combustion-chamber. An object to attain in my apparatus, as in previous devices, has therefore been to obtain a direct passage of the coal from the magazine to the point where the waste is to be discharged, so that no backing up or choking of the coal can take place. For this purpose my magazine is made of peculiar construction, so as to pass the coal directly through, this result being aided by a peculiar form of grate, a divisionplate at the back of the furnace, and .suitablepokers in front thereof. With this construction the liberated carbon gases of the coal pass through a live burning mass of coals at the same time as does a current of air entering through the grate-bars, so that the carbon of the coal and oxygen of the air are united at a burning temperature.

My improvement further consists in combining with the aforesaid division-plate and magazine a grate constructed as hereinafter described.

My improvement further consists in certain devices for heating air and directing it onto the flame at its point of exit from the furnace.

. My improvement furtherconsists in the combination, with aheating-drum, constructed as hereinafter described, of a-heated deflectingplate and an exit-flue extending down nearly to the bottom of the drum or radiator.

' Myimprovement further consists in the combination, with a magazine-furnace, of a set of pokers, as hereinafter described.

-In order that the invention maybe fully understood, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a topviewof my apparatus. Fig. 2 is avertieal longitudinal section of the same on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 -is a front view.

1 1 represent the walls of a furnace, usually constructed of cast-iron. 2 is the magazine, the upper part of which is perforated at 3.

The lower part, 4, of the magazine is made wider than the top, with a shoulder at 5. This portion of the magazine may be either cast in one piece with the upper portion, 2, or may be attached to the wall of the furnace, as shown.

Fastened in guides or otherwise on or to the side walls of the furnace, and extending a little lower than the top of the flue leadingfrom the combustion-chamber 8, is adivision-plate, 6, preferably made of fire-clay.

The portion 4 of themagazine extends down within the front rib of a curved and elevated grate, 7, which is hinged at its back in the side walls of the furnace and supported in its elevated position by a swinging catch, 22, at its front end.

From the combustion-chamber 8 a horizontal flue or neck, 9, incased in fire-tile, as shown, leads into my improved radiator or heatingdrum.

Between the under outer shell, 1, of the neck and the fire-tile lining 10 is an air-chamber,11, having access by mouth 12 in the ash-pit 13. Air heated in this chamber is discharged through perforations 14.

- Between the upper outer shell of the neck and the upper fire-brick lining, 10, is a second air-chamber, 15, access to which is had by inlet-pipes 16 and egress by perforations 17. The upper shell of the neck is prolonged within the radiator, as at 18, so as to form a deflectin g-plate for the issuing products of combustion.

The radiator or drum 19 consists of a rectangular-shaped box, preferably of malleable iron, through which pass vertical air-heating pipes 20.

The stack 21 is situated at the back of the radiator, and made to extend nearly to its floor, as shown.

23 23 represent a series of curved fingers, cast in one piece with aback piece or rib, 24, to which is also either cast or otherwise attached a triangular frame or lever, 25, the lower extremity of which is pivoted, as at 26, to the front wall of the furnace. A ring, 27, in the upper end of this frame or lever enables the insertion of a poker or other tool for throwin g the poker-fingers into or out of the magazine, into which they pass at its shouldered portion 5.

In operation, a tire having been started in the grate and the magazine filled with coal, the mass of coal at the back of the grate, near the exit-flue, soon obtains a white heat. The gases from the coal pass directly through the heated mass and come in contact with the heated air from the grate, and thus aid in the heating of the rear portion of the fuel. Gases rising from the upper part of the coal pass through the perforations 3 in the rear wall at the top of the magazine, pass down behind the division-plate 6, being heated to a high temperature in their passage, and are discharged directly into the heated mass of coal in the combustion chamber. The division-plate 6 serves the purposes of a back for the lower part of the magazine, a front for the descending fine 28, and a stop or abutment for the coal, preventing the green coal from entering the exit-flue, so that only live coals shall be at the rear of the division-plate 6. The curved and elevated grate 7 assists the backward passage of the coal, the same object being aided by the enlargement 4. of the lower part of the magazine. When the coal is jammed up or the fire needs reviving a tool is inserted in the ring 27 in the end of lever 26 and the fingers 23 rammed down into the coal, loosening the same and clearing the grate. \Vhen a direct passage of coal is desired the fingers are withdrawn and covered by the shoulder 5, thus being prevented from interfering with the passage of the coal.

Should clinkers or other refuse accumulate on the grate, the catch 22 is withdrawn and the grate 7 allowed to fall, when the matter can be cleaned out and the grate returned to its place. Before the grate is dropped the pokers 23 may be rammed into the coal and left there, serving to hold the coal up while the grate is dropped.

The highly-heated products of combustion pass through the neck 9, and are thrown by plates 18 and 29 directly upon the pipes 20 of the radiator. At this point a still greater heat and a complete combustion of the carbon are obtained by air thrown into the current of the products of combustion. This air is thrown onto the upper and lower sides of the current bymeans of the perforations 14 and 17, and is introduced and warmed as follows: That on the upper side is admitted by pipes or apertures 16 to the chamber 15, where it reaches a high degree of heat, being directly over the hottest portion of the flame, and is discharged by apertures 17. The atmospheric air thrown on the under side of the current is admitted through the ash-pit to the mouth 12 of chamber 11, the said chamber rising with the deflecting-plate 29, and so being intensely heated by the direct impact of the flame. The air issuing from these apertures causes a bright and intense heat across the mouth of the neck 9, which is thrown directly onto the pipes 20 in the radiator, among which the products of combustion circulate and are discharged by stack 21, being obliged to return almost to the floor of the drum ere they can escape.

I am aware that it is not new to allow the gases to escape from the upper part of the coal and pass through a descending flue to the smoke-stack by means of perforations in the magazineshell.

1 am also aware that it is not broadly new to introduce jets of atmospheric air onto the escaping products of combustion; but the main part of previous devices for accomplishing this object have been for burning hard coal. My arrangement is for burning soft coal, and uses the products of combustion to heat a radiator, for which purpose, in order to avoid caking and choking up of the radiator-fines with soot, I am obliged to burn the carbon of the escaping products, producing an almost perfectly clear flame for heating the radiator.

In my apparatus all cold air admitted to the combustion-chamber impinges directly on the burning coal through the grate, and all air admitted above or beyond the burning coal is heated air.

My apparatus is horizontal draft, having no ascending or descending fines for products of combustion until the final exit from the ra diator, thus avoiding the use of all dampers, valves, or registers.

By consuming all carbon before it enters the radiator the radiator does not coat on themside with soot, and is always available as a radiating-surface.

By having no ascending or descending flues and no diaphragms or divisions in the radia' tor I get a direct draft, so essential to the successful burning of soft coal.

\Vhile radiators or drums are generally used to utilize the escaping or waste heat from a stove or furnace, in my apparatusit is the main heatin g or radiatin g surface where all or nearly all the heat generated by the combustion of the coal is made available for heating purposes, and but asmall amountot' heat is thrown off from the surface of the combustion-chamber.

By the peculiar construction of my apparatus I have no red-hot surface. While the radiator is intensely hot it is ablack surface, and therefore the hot air radiated is not in any way deprived of its vital qualities, and is more healthful than that which is thrown off from a red surface.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein and dcsire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In an apparatus for burning soft coal, the combination, with the magazine 2, having enlargement 4, of curved and elevated grate 7 and division-plate 6, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with division-plate 6, air-chambers 11 and 15, and deflecting-plates 18 and 29, of a horizontal-draft flue direct from the point of combustion into a drum or radiator.

3. In combination with magazine 24,division-plate 6, and grate 7, the series of curved pokers 3, arranged to be thrown into or out of the grate by lever 25, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4.. In an apparatus for burning bituminous coal, the combination, with a drum or radiator, 19, and exit-flue 9, of a curved and elevated grate, hinged at its rear portion, and held in its normal position against the shorter side of an inclined magazine, 24, by catches 22, and an inclined division-plate, 6, arranged to cause a continuous flow or pressure of coal toward the mouth of the exit-flue, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In an apparatus for burning bituminous coal, the air-chamber 11, having mouth 12, rising portion 29, and perforations l4, substantially as set forth.

6. In an apparatus for burning bituminous ooal,the combination, with furnace 1 and exitfiue 9, of air-chamber 11, having rising portion 29 and perforations 14, and air-chamber 15, having perforations 17, substantially as set forth.

7. In combination with furnace 1, the radiator 19, having deflecting-plates 18 and 29, pipes 20, and stack 21, all constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The poking device consisting of pivoted lever 25 and poker-fingers 23 23, constructed substantially as described.

9. In combination with magazine 2, having shoulder 5, the pokers 23, arranged to be Withdrawn and covered by the said shoulder, substantially as set forth.

CHRISTOPHER O. HARE.

Witnesses:

W. L. VANCE, W. G. HARE. 

